Mother's Tea

The Mother's Tea is a yearly tradition at Chapel Hill Children's School. We were on a family vacation and missed Allison's tea, but I attended Caroline's last year, and today I went to Will's. It is such a special day, and his face was just beaming. In the past they have held it in Wesley Hall, but this year they moved it to the classrooms. We had to wait outside the door until our child came and escorted us into the classroom and to our seat. There were beautiful table decorations, handmade place mats, delicious food, and, of course, tea. They started out by taking pictures of all the mothers and children, and the children sang some songs for us. It was adorable, and Will could not stop smiling at me. I kept thinking that it just does not get any better than this. After we ate, we played a little game. There was a wall gallery of drawings, and each child had drawn a picture of their mother and answered some generic questions about her. Each mother took a turn guessing which picture was done by their child, and after the guess, the child had to go and stand by the one that they really did. I actually guessed mine pretty quickly, because it looked just like all of his people pictures, except with slightly longer hair. He was so proud of it. Here are the answers that he gave to the questions about me.

I like it when my mom takes me places.
My mom makes me happy when she takes me to the Pumpkin Patch.

My mom smells as pretty as the kitchen.

My mom is as smart as Caroline and Allison!

He also made a beautiful picture of flowers for me. It was a special time, and I hope he remembers it for a very long time. I know I will! I included a picture of Caroline and me from the Mother's Tea last year. They had made hats for all the mother's to wear.

The Tooth Fairy Makes A Visit

Yesterday Caroline lost her 3rd tooth, and this was the 1st one on top. It had been lose for awhile, but over the weekend it became really lose. When I tried to touch it or even look at it, she would cover her mouth with her hand because she wanted Ms. Wagon to pull it out, and that is what happened on Monday. The principal at CES, Ms. Wagnon, is in the business of pulling out the children's teeth when it is time. She determines if it is ready, and when it is, she gets it out of there. Caroline came home with her tooth in a little treasure chest box and couldn't have been more proud. She loves the way it feels in her mouth now, and I can't wait until the second one comes out and we get that toothless grin. She was pleased that the tooth fairy came and brought some money. We divided it up tonight in her learning bank between spend, save, and give.

An Artist on Display

A couple of weeks ago we received a note that Caroline's artwork had been chosen as one of about 25 people from Carroll Elementary to be on display at the Southlake Library. This afternoon we went as a family to the library to honor our artist. She wasn't sure what was on display, so it was a surprise to her, too. She made a beautiful nutcracker, and we were all honestly impressed with her picture. She enjoyed the attention, and we had fun getting her picture in front of her drawing. The tag said she used markers and pastels. Afterwards, we went to Mi Cocina for dinner and enjoyed our family outing. Both of my girls love art, and I have to admit that they didn't get any of their talent from me! Way to go Caroline! We are proud of you.

Thunder Wins

Allison's basketball team, Thunder, won the post season tournament today in overtime. The game was tied 12 - 12 at the end of regulation, and they won 14 - 12 after a 2 minute overtime. We were up most of the game, but they kept if close and even went ahead by 2 with just a minute left in regular time. Allison had a lot fun playing (and winning), and is especially good at defense and covering her player. The team has really grown during the season in their abilities, and we are all impressed with the level of play on the court. After the game, the coach presented them with the tournament championship trophy. This was in addition to their regular season trophy. We will have an end of the season party this week to celebrate their accomplishments. Way to go Allison and team Thunder!

Jager

Friday was a tough day in our house. Our dog, Jager, passed away. She was 15 years old, and she lived a long, full life. She was definitely a happy dog and was very loved. Ray got her as a small puppy, and I was introduced to her when she was three. The other dog in the pictures is Tyler, and he was my dog. They liked to be near each other, but they did not interact very much. Like most Dalmatians, Jager was hyper and loved to jump. She was not well leash trained, and you had to be very careful when you opened the front door, or she would be gone. She loved to tease us as we tried to get her back. She would let you get just close enough and then dart the other direction. One of her most prominent features was that she loved attention. She could sit for hours while being pet and would often growl/talk at you until you gave in. She was a beautiful dog with bright blue eyes, which is very unusual for a Dalmatian. Ray said that it runs in the family! She did fine with the kids, although the toddler stage was not her favorite. She pretty much ignored this children during this time period and did her best to stay away. Even though she was Ray's dog, I watched her grow more and more attached to me over the years. It would make Ray really mad that she would choose to sleep on the floor by my side of the bed instead of his. One problem we encountered over the past couple of years was her desire to sleep under Ray's hanging clothes. If anyone has been around a Dalmatian, you know that their short hair gets everywhere, especially on clothes. We had to use baby gates to keep her away from our clothes, and sometimes she would even find a way through those! As she got older, she definitely settled down, and you could open the front door safely without having her dart away. Jager had been digressing for the past several months, but took a turn for the worse about a week ago. She quit eating, and we found out she was in Kidney failure. As hard as it was on us, the truly difficult part was explaining it to the kids. They had a lot of questions, and many tears were shed, but I think they are doing okay and have a healthy attitude about it. It's just so strange being in the house without her. Every time we turn around, we expect to see her in one of her spots. It is definitely empty in here right now, and you don't realize how much their presence affects you until it is gone. As the vet said, she lived 15 great years, and you really can't ask for much more than that. We will always be blessed by her presence in our lives.

Valentine's Day Parties

The children all had a great time at their Valentine parties. Will's was on Thursday, and I just made it after Allison's field trip. They had ice cream sundaes and exchanged Valentines. The girls both had parties on Friday back to back, so I was able to go to both of them, as well. I am amazed at the talents of some of the parents. From the table decorations, to the different themes, to the handmade ponchos for all the girls, there are some creative parents out there! We are so fortunate to be part of such a wonderful preschool and elementary school. We just couldn't be happier.

Slim GoodBody

Allison had her 2nd grade field trip to the Will Roger's Coliseum to see the Slim GoodBody Health show. It was very entertaining and educational. She learned a lot about the human body. Yes, this guy really is dressed in a tan leotard with the organs stamped on there! It's so funny because several times they asked for volunteers to come up and perform something on stage. Allison could hardly stand it she wanted to be picked so badly. It's so different from me. I don't think I ever wanted to be up on stage in the spotlight, but she thrives on it. Once they asked for volunteers to come up and demonstrate extreme flexibility. She immediately raised her hand, and when I asked her what she was going to do, she told me she would figure it out when she got up there. I love her confidence, but I have to say I was relieved she didn't get picked! After the show, we went to Bicentennial Park for a picnic lunch. It's always fun to break away from their daily routine, and I'm so glad I was able to go and be a part of it.

A Date With Dad

Friday night was the annual Indian Princess Daddy Daughter Dance. It was held at the Hilton in Grapevine and included dinner and dancing. The girls have been so excited about the dance and could hardly wait for Friday night. Ray ordered them corsages, and he rang the front doorbell so they could be picked up on their date. There were big smiles everywhere when they left, and it sounds like they had a wonderful time. Caroline was particularly into dancing with Ray, and I think it was a special time for all of them. While they were gone, I let Will chose a place to go eat, and he picked Wendy's. We had a special dinner out, too, and I always love to have one-on-one outings with each of my children.

100 Days Smarter

On Friday, Caroline and her classmates celebrated 100 days of Kindergarten. This was a big deal, and a lot of preparation went into the day. Each Kindergartner decorated a t-shirt that said 100 days smarter, and each child decorated a square of a quilt that went up on the wall in the hallway. Caroline was quilt number 86. It was funny because the day was all set for Thursday, February 5th, and then we had an ice day the week before, so they had to move the whole thing to Friday, the 6th, so it was the official 100th day of Kindergarten. I work with Publicity for the PTO and had scheduled two papers to come and cover the event, so I had to reschedule with everyone when the date changed. The children went to 5 different stations during the morning. The first station was hats, and each child decorated their 100th day hat. The 2nd station was stringing 100 fruit loops on a necklace. It was so funny because Caroline and many of the others started with 100 fruit loops, but with all the eating along the way, their necklace had dwindled down to almost nothing by the end of the morning. The 3rd station they each got a fake 100 dollar bill and had to write about what they would do with $100. Caroline wrote that she would buy a tent. It was probably one of the more realistic requests with what you could with a $100, but she didn't dream very big. The 4th station was building and stacking blocks and other things in increments of 100. The last station was outside, and they tried to hula hoop 100 times, bounce the basketball 100 times, and jump rope 100 times. It was fun to see the excitement on their faces and the pride they took in having been in school 100 days.